ASN Report 2023

Île‑de‑France REGION The Paris division regulates radiation protection and the transport of radioactive substances in the 8 départements of the Île-de-France region. The Orléans division regulates nuclear safety in the BNIs of this region. ASN carried out 244 inspections in the Île-de-France region in 2023, of which 90 were in the field of nuclear safety, 132 in small-scale nuclear activities (two of this in the area of polluted sites and soils), 12 in Radioactive Substance Transport (TSR) and ten concerning approved organisations or laboratories. Seven significant events were rated level 1 on the International Nuclear and Radiological Events Scale (INES scale) in the small-scale nuclear activities sector, eight at level 1 on the INES scale in the Basic Nuclear Installations (BNIs) sector and one at level 1 on the INES scale in the area of TSR. Lastly, in the context of their oversight duties, the ASN inspectors issued one violation report. CEA Saclay site Since 2017, the Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) Paris‑Saclay centre accommodates activities previously conducted on several geographically distinct sites close to Paris, and the sites of Saclay and Fontenay-aux‑Roses in particular. The CEA Paris-Saclay centre, of which the main site covers an area of 125 hectares, is situated about 20 km south-west of Paris, in the Essonne département. About 6,000 people work there. Since 2005, this centre has been primarily devoted to physical sciences, fundamental research and applied research. The applications concern physics, metallurgy, electronics, biology, climatology, simulation, chemistry and the environment. The main aim of applied nuclear research is to optimise the operation and enhance the safety of the French Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs). Seven BNIs are located on this site. Nearby are also located an office of the French National Institute for Nuclear Science and Technology (INSTN) – a training institute – and two industrial firms: Technicatome, which designs nuclear reactors for naval propulsion, and CIS bio international, which produces radiopharmaceuticals for nuclear medicine. THE INDUSTRIAL AND RESEARCH FACILITIES Osiris and Isis reactors The Osiris pool-type reactor, which has an authorised power of 70 Megawatts thermal (MWth), was primarily intended for technological irradiation of structural materials and fuels for various power reactor technologies. Another of its functions was to produce radionuclides for medical purposes. Its critical mock-up, the Isis reactor with a power of 700 kilowatts thermal (kWth), was essentially used for training purposes. These two reactors were authorised by a Decree of 8 June 1965 and constitute BNI 40. Given the old design of this facility by comparison with the best available techniques for protection against external hazards and for containment of materials in the event of an accident, the Osiris reactor was shut down at the end of 2015. The Isis reactor was definitively shut down in March 2019. Following submission of the decommissioning file for the entire facility in October 2018, ASN requested and received additional information giving more details on the operations planned at each stage of decommissioning and substantiating more precisely the initial state envisaged at the start of decommissioning and the results of the impact assessment. In late 2021, the CEA announced a radical change in the decommissioning strategy of BNI 40 with the postponement of commissioning of the equipment for treating and packaging irradiating waste. For the purpose of the examination, further information on the new decommissioning scenario, particularly regarding the management of irradiating waste, had to be provided. The CEA submitted a new decommissioning file at the end of 2023. Since the shutdown of the Osiris and Isis reactors and pending decommissioning of the facility, the removal of radioactive and hazardous materials and the decommissioning preparation operations are underway, with an organisation adapted to the new state of the facility. More specifically, the last of the irradiated fuel stored in the facility was removed in 2021. 62 ASN Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2023

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